A review by nathanjhunt
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

dark reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was my 61st book finished in 2025.

Ehh, I'm so conflicted and find this hard to rate. I really liked the first half: it was so clever and enjoyable. Unfortunately it weakened in the third quarter, and the second half became a slog for me.

The world is so vividly different from our own. There was an uncomfortable and unsettling sexual theme throughout this society, which made a sore but interesting read.

I wasn't expecting the protagonists to change half way through, and I was disappointed to leave behind some interesting characters that we got to know. To put it flatly, I don't like John at all, and I hated that we ended up following his storyline. His backstory with Linda is very intriguing and sad, but I liked him less and less as the story went on.

He
hit Lenina and then proceeded to madly call her a whore over and over
. You expect me to like or care about him after that? I don't feel any sympathy for him despite what happens later, because I like her character and not his. So John has mummy issues - understandable - but it became a tiring theme.

I found the final quarter to be sadly very boring between the Savage and the Controller. Far too much monologuing and talk of God. I really struggled and failed to pay attention.

On a final note, the description of ethnicity is unfortunately unavoidably dated. It fits, I suppose, with the theme of castes, but it's a little uncomfortable to have people referred to as a "negro" or an "Indian".
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